


Gladys the Deathbringer

by orphan_account



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Memory Alteration, Mind Control, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-01-26
Updated: 2012-11-09
Packaged: 2017-11-14 06:14:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/512185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The formidable Gladys is said to be able to bring an end to any loving relationship by using forbidden magic to manipulate the memories and perceptions of her victims.  How will Natsu and Gray fare against such a foe?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Land of Ardent Love

Erza sat perched upon her chosen bar stool, nibbling at her shortcake while trying to drown out the hustle and bustle of the guild. Although this place felt like home, she was working on a terrible headache brought about by not being able to sleep well. Various things haunted her mind, such as Jellal and, well, mostly that. She bit right into her fork as though she intended to eat that along with her cake, though only Gazille was known to do something like that. Now her tooth ached along with her head, and the leg of some table behind her crashed right into her cake and tea.

Enough was enough. The moment she slammed her gauntlets against the counter, all rowdy parties fell into a dead silence with the exception of two. Natsu and Gray were getting awfully cocky about their strength, daring to carry on with their idiotic squabbling while Erza was just trying to relax, for once. She needed a break from them, though she understood their need to take their pent up frustration out on each other. She often took her own frustration out on them, just like she was about to now.

She yanked Natsu by the hair off of an entirely nude and yelling Gray, then yanked Gray off the floor and slammed their heads together. It got the bickering to stop at once.

"You two need something more constructive to do than fight all day," she said, leaving them both to nurse their dizzy, bleeding foreheads and she browsed the missions board. She would not be joining them on this one, because she was so sick of both of them at the moment. At this rate she'd kill them both much quicker than they could ever hope to kill each other. She would talk Lucy into staying behind, too, or perhaps joining her on a separate mission, if money was tight. Happy wouldn't even be able to catch up with how fast she planned to send them flying out the door.

It was high time certain sectors of the strongest team took an opportunity to strengthen their bonds. Natsu and Lucy (and Happy) already had the most cooperative bond within the four of them. Then there was Gray and Erza, who shared a more subtle support for one another. Natsu and Gray had the best potential, considering that the rivalry would push them above and beyond. Natsu had a lot of sleeping power within him, but he'd never even dream to surpass Erza if he kept charging at her like a mad bull all of the time. No, really, if he even hoped to get better without the use of major guild and town threats to supplement his sleeping strength, he would need to use his competition with Gray to unlock his power. Furthermore, Gray needed to learn to be less reckless and shed himself of a few... unfortunate habits, though she admittedly had less hope for him.

She browsed that board for several minutes, trying to find the perfect mission that would help them bond. Rather, a mission that gave them no choice but to cooperate, rather than something that would enable them to go their separate ways until the mission was complete. That was when she came across a request from the Town of Balsam. The headline was Gladys the Deathbringer, and the description was that this malicious woman was capable of tarnishing any relationship that was once loving. Couples married for as long as fifty years separated, familial ties were broken, and the crippling amount of sorrow and loneliness in the town has driven up the demand for booze, and the once thriving farm town was rotting away.

It was perfect. No petty mage could break a bond between members of Fairy Tail, that much was for certain. That, and Natsu and Gray weren't afraid of anything. Even so, Erza could understand if a pair like Alzack and Bisca, or Team Shadow Gear would be too reluctant to go. However, it was right up Natsu and Gray's alley. The reward for this mission was 200,000 jewels, and again the two of them would sooner blow up everything in their path than let something destroy their questionably existent minds.

They managed to peel themselves up off the floor by the time Erza started walking back toward them. She could practically feel their knees rattling, and when she thrust the mission toward them they clung to each other for support. It was almost cute.

"Here's something constructive," were her orders, and Gray eventually reached out and observed the mission. Natsu's eyes widened at the description, and his expression went dark for a moment. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was when allies turned on allies. When people who were supposed to love each other turned away from one another, it amounted to basically the same thing. His love for his friends was so strong that he took every attack of bonds between people personally.

"I'm ready when you are, Erza," said Natsu, cracking his knuckles. "Where's Lucy?"

"Lucy and I won't be joining you," said Erza. She would spend her day eating cake, bathing, and napping, she decided. One quiet day. That's all she wanted was one quiet day, and for Natsu and Gray to actually learn to cooperate with one another. It was risky, no doubt. Her and Lucy usually acted as mediators for their behavior, but the training wheels needed to come off at some point, because if they didn't then by her repository of a thousand swords those two would suffer a pain history would be too scared to tell.

"What? That's impossible!" said Gray, glaring at Natsu who was already glaring at him. Erza's fists clenched in a very metallic clank, and if they refused to cooperate then those metal fists would fly. Their burning gazes were extinguished, and suddenly Erza seemed to grow about eight feet over their heads.

"You will do it. Cooperate, or else."

If they were the types to wet their pants in fear, they would have done it five times by now, and they nodded profusely as falls of sweat roared down their backs.

"Good," said Erza. "Now go."

"AYE SIR!" They said in unison, stampeding out of the guild. She meant to tell Gray to put some clothes on first, and she told Mirajane to contact Balsam at once. They left just in time for Happy to be done with his plate of fish, and once the wings shot out Erza knew he intended to follow automatically. She grabbed Happy by the tail when the winged cat attempted to take off in their direction. This trip was strictly for Natsu and Gray, after all.

"But Erza, they're gonna kill each other without us," said Happy, trying to struggle out of her vice grip. It may have been wise to at least have Happy along. Then again, knowing Happy's tendency toward mischief and sarcasm, he would probably just make things worse. Nope, just because the training wheels came off didn't mean they could ride the bike no-handed yet.

"It's for the best," said Erza, using her free hand to sip tea. She let Happy go once he conceded. Natsu very rarely went on missions without Happy. Would he be completely lost without his dearly winged companion? Who would drag him off the train after the motion sickness completely overwhelmed him? Gray would probably just leave him behind and take care of the mission himself.

"I'll save you, Natsu!" said Happy jetting forth, though his efforts were fruitless, because Erza had him by the tail once more and was unrelenting. Those two had no choice but to cooperate.

\---

"An hour and a half?" said Natsu, his cheeks as pale as death already. Was there enough time to track down Wendy and have her cast troia on him? No, it was already at the station. Damn, damn, damn.

"You're pathetic, Natsu," said Gray, dressed in shitty souvenir clothes. This particular train station was used to Gray's random nude appearances, and made him buy clothes before he climbed on board. This time it was chafing boxers, sweat pants with the station's logo, and an ugly brown, wrinkled botton up shirt. It didn't matter anyway, because they'd just be gone within the next twenty-four hours. Perhaps the only reason this station didn't ban Gray from the general area is because he was one of their best customers, not by choice, mind you.

"Who's pathetic? Who tries to get on a train naked but you, you squinty-eyed pervert!"

Before Gray could respond, the conductor announced the departure of their train, and the two of them headed on board glowering at each other the entire way to their seats. With anyone else Gray would insist that he grab the window seat, but with Natsu, well. The window seat was a requirement with Natsu, for obvious reasons. Too bad they didn't think to pay Wendy a visit before this, because an hour and a half was an awfully long time to put up with Natsu's shit.

Then the train jerked into motion, and the moaning and groaning commenced. Gray was the one who wanted to be sick. After all, it wasn't like he did anything to deserve being stuck on a mission with this loser. At the same time, he valued his life, so he wasn't even going to exercise the thought of grumbling with Erza about this anymore than he already had.

What she was trying to do was obvious. Gray had seen this particular mission up for weeks, and a few people voiced their reluctance to do it. Gray just didn't want to do it because it seemed too easy. Well, now that he was with Natsu, alone mind you, that was the greatest challenge of them all. Of course, he ought not to be so quick to judge the mission as "too easy" now that he was on it. Erza and Lucy weren't here, so Gray would have to be the brains on this team. That didn't seem too terribly difficult.

Gladys the Deathbringer. He spent his time occupying his mind with the mission and grabbing onto Natsu's shirt anytime he seemed dangerously close to falling out the window. The people sitting across from them had long since relocated, which was expected. After awhile Gray had to keep one hand clutched to the dangling Natsu at all times, while the other hand was on the mission. This lady could destroy any relationship, so it seemed. Apparently it was magic at work, because even the closest of partners went their separate ways.

He had once heard this town described as The Land of Ardent Love. It was lush, green, and filled with any type of plant and vegetable native to the area that anyone could imagine. There were also the Sunset Hills he once overheard Juvia and Mirajane gossiping about, but he tuned it out in favor of beer with Cana after just hearing the name. People often had their weddings and honeymoons in Balsam. That was common knowledge. The Deathbringer had plenty of targets, but the motive was unclear.

The exact magic being used was also unclear. It had to be a magic that manipulated hearts and minds, though, so it was definitely forbidden. He supposed that, if she was even able to separate the happiest of marriages and the tightest of families that he had to be on his guard. Natsu might have seemed like a logical choice to have as a partner because they seemed to hate each other, so what effect could the magic possibly have on them?

Seemed being the keyword. When Gray was actually forced to stop and think about it, he really didn't hate Natsu at all. He was insufferable, loud, destructive, and was overall the hugest pain in this ass that he could possibly be. At the same time, Gray fought with him because it was fun. It was easier to piss Natsu off than anyone else, and he got a good workout pummeling the flame mage. Also, some of the best insults he had ever come up with came from fights with Natsu, and he had to admit, he recycled the ones he was proud of on enemies. Natsu was as much a source of strength as an annoyance.

What was the best way to approach this so-called Deathbringer? He supposed he and Natsu could just act naturally, but if she was fine-tuned in what made a relationship work then she would find some way to put an end to all of Natsu and Gray's epic fights, which wasn't cool. Gray needed to amuse himself somehow.

Another way to approach this witch was to fool her into thinking that they were best friends. Well, they were already sort of best friends. Gray would have to pretend Natsu was someone else, probably. Lucy? No. Natsu didn't have the underwear for it. He wasn't scary enough to be Erza. Juvia? Hell no! The last thing he needed was a bunch of weird blathering about love and junk from NATSU of all people.

Damn, was there really no one Gray was buddy-buddy with in a conventional sense? Well, he supposed the closest that came to mind was Lyon. Their relationship was essentially the same as his with Natsu, only not quite as violent. Not to mention Lyon thought of himself as elder and superior, which was always annoying. Still, Gray could stand to be polite to and work with Lyon if the situation called for it, so he supposed this was a starting point. Treat Natsu how he would treat Lyon.

But wait. He didn't really pay attention to how he treated people all that much. It usually wasn't necessary. Crap. And if he didn't keep his charade in check at all times then Gladys would figure it out. Then there was Natsu to think about. How the hell was he going to get a complete idiot to follow a plan like that? It was hopeless. The two of them would have to ride on the hope that, whatever power Gladys had in mind manipulation, she lacked in physical strength.

It seemed like eons passed by the time they had reached the Balsam station. Gray's hand was still gripped to Natsu's shirt, and he didn't bother to try and rouse the pathetic flame mage from his sickened stupor. He just grabbed both sets of luggage from the top in one hand and dragged Natsu through the train with his other, garnering a few unwelcome stares, but hey. This was basically routine at this point.

Once they were off Natsu found the strength to stagger on his own, which was good because Gray didn't feel like carrying his damned stuff. Gray shoved Natsu's luggage into his wobbly arms as the two of them wandered away from the station. It was already a sight to behold. Streets littered with enough hard stuff to make Cana blush, and that wasn't all. Every other building appeared to be boarded up and run down in some way. Some man who apparently reeked enough of urine to make Natsu's eyes tear up was sleeping in an alley between an apartment complex and a foreclosed restaurant.

"Tch, Land of Ardent Love indeed," said Gray, scratching his head. He was sure some part of this town must have gone unscathed, but with all trash and browning green he found his optimism dying as quickly as the gardens. Very few places seemed lively and appealing. Most of those places were bars and pubs, which were all packed. That was most unfortunate, because he was hungry.

"I've never smelled so much alcohol in my life," said Natsu, his cheeks retaining a hint of their previous green from the train. Natsu was not an alcohol drinker. Alcohol and fire did not mix, which he learned the hard way once. Besides, Natsu had no need to be under the influence of anything. He was enough of a crazy idiot sober.

"Let's just get this over with," said Gray, spotting the mayor's house.

For once, they agreed on something.

TBC


	2. Of Weddings and Woes

It didn't take long for Natsu and Gray to come across the mayor's building. It was a brilliant marble structure that sat perched upon the beginning of the famous Sunset Hills. The hills were the only part of the village that appeared to be unscathed from the influence of alcohol and neglect. They were still lush and green as the brochure that Gray found underneath his foot suggested. This was the fine line between what is and what was, he guessed. Although he didn't care all at much about romance, marriage, and all that other cheesy, annoying bullshit, this was sad even to him.

"Oye, open up!" said Natsu, banging on the front door of the locked manor. It was hard to tell what was on his mind, though Natsu was always fired up about a good mission. He was getting on Gray's nerves most of the way here, complaining of awful smells, sounds, and hunger. His senses were a lot more acute than Gray's, though, and even Gray had to admit that the smells were unacceptable, so he let the annoyance slide. The less they bickered, the sooner they could get this over with.

"Are you trying to break down the door, you idiot?" Of course, there was only so much Gray could hold back.

"What did you call me, you droopy-eyed porn star?"

"I AM NOT a pervert!" Gray bellowed, shoving his finger against the tip of Natsu's nose.

"Could have fooled me. Where the hell did your shirt go, huh?"

Indeed. When Gray looked down his shirt was gone, though he could not recall when he had discarded it. Luckily it was only the shirt he lost, which was no big deal. Once the pants and underwear were gone, that's when the real problems started. And besides, he didn't like that stupid shirt anyway. The train station in Magnolia could kiss his ass.

The two glared into each other's eyes hatefully until even their auras began to strangle one another. They were going to tear each other to shreds right before the mayor's house, at least until a click from the front door snapped them out of it. Their faces were merely centimeters apart when a gaunt man with squinty eyes, snow white skin, and a terrible black comb over opened the door. Gray loosened his grip on Natsu's scarf just the slightest bit, and the two guys turned toward the wide open door simultaneously.

"What is this ruckus?" said the man, coughing into a hankerchief. Gray let go of Natsu, and in that instant turned his chest toward the man to reveal his Fairy Tail tattoo. Natsu turned his shoulder toward the man to do the same.

"We're mages from Fairy Tail, and we've come to beat up this Glennis person!" said Natsu, pointing to the picture of the woman in the mission.

"It's Gladys, you oaf," said Gray, snatching the mission away from Natsu. He had no idea how the fire mage got his filthy paws on it in the first place.

"Don't call me an oaf, you stupid ice queen!"

"What did you say?"

"Most excellent," said the gaunt comb over man, regaining their attention. His happy face made him look about ten years younger, as though he weren't always a miserable walking corpse. At least he didn't smell like booze, or urine, Natsu reasoned. That was a bit of a rarity in this town. At least the parts of it that they walked through anyway. "Master October will be so pleased. Come, come right in, gentlemen."

The man bowed with both arms pointed toward the inside of the building. Both guys swallowed and headed in, apprehensive and sporting goose bumps already. The scent of the inside was rosy. So rosy that Natsu wheezed a bit at first. For once Gray wanted to put a shirt on rather than take it off on reflex, and Natsu's instincts were leaning more toward a flight response. If the home weren't such a grandiose assault toward the senses it probably wouldn't have been such a problem.

There were hundreds of paintings of married couples, a few framed wedding dresses and suits. There were busts of shirtless men from ancient times. The wall paper were a tacky collection of pinks and yellows that burned the retinas, and there were many, many, many flowers. The stench of booze and urine on the outside was becoming preferable.

Then Natsu and Gray arrived in the master room where the mayor October sat, legs crossed, fingers laced and perched politely against his torso. He appeared to be awfully young for a man of high authority, with a full head of neatly combed brown hair and yellow glasses. October pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose and rose from his seat, opening both of his arms wide as though the two guys would come rushing into them.

"Welcome, darlings!" he said, causing Natsu and Gray both to flinch. Often when they were startled by strange and awkward things such as this they would reach for each other. When their bodies and the palms of their hands pressed together out of pure instinct, that only seemed to please October even more. "It's been weeks since I've had any clients. My delicate heart is fractured by these awful events." October pressed his palms together and practically sang, "Do tell me you darlings plan on getting married!"

"M-m-married?" said Natsu and Gray, and at once they hopped about as far away from each other as they could get.

"That is the absolute last person in this universe I would marry!" said Gray, pointing and shouting toward Natsu. The fire mage was in a similar state of disgust.

"Like I'd ever want to live with you, prancing around naked like you own the damn place. You make me sick!"

"Boys, boys," said October in a voice as smooth as butter, waving his palms back and forth. Once the calm of the room was regained, his lip trembled and tears began to brim in his eyes. "You're both... adorable. Absolutely perfect!"

"ANYWAY," said Gray, digging his pinky into his ear as hard as he could. It was all he could do to keep himself from blushing. "I think you know why we're here, so let's cut the crap and get right down to business, huh?"

"Sure, sure." October chortled. "Just put your pants back on, darling."

Gray's pants were sprawled in an unattractive heap on the floor. It was hard to concentrate on pulling them back on and not running over toward Natsu to beat the shit out of him. He was literally rolling on the floor laughing over Gray's awkward predicament. This was becoming one of the worst days ever, and someone was bound to walk away from it with every bone in their body broken. That someone wasn't going to be Gray.

"Right, then." October pushed his glasses up once more and leaned against his desk with his arms crossed. "You've seen the devastation my beautiful town has undergone. The divorce rate is through the roof! People are leaving left and right. The alcohol industry is the only thing driving our economy at the moment. Balsam is ruined, and the only way to bring her back to her previous splendor is to stop Gladys!"

"Who exactly is Glennis?" said Natsu.

"Gladys, darling. She was a perfectly harmless fortune teller at once point. She's also my ex-wife."

"YOU had a WIFE?" said Gray, one brow raised in complete disbelief. He was sure that this was the same kind of person Master Bob from Blue Pegasus was for a moment there, what with all the cries of "darling" and suggesting that he and... Natsu get married. Gray was pretty certain he didn't swing that way, least of all for Natsu. Then again, love in a romantic sense was just something he tended to stay away from altogether. He didn't mean to disappoint, say, Juvia for example, but relationships seemed just too troublesome and not worth it. All he wanted were friends, people to beat up every so often, and girls like Lucy who he could make occasional, casual passes at that would get him nowhere. That was his idea of perfection.

"I've had four wives in my lifetime, to be more exact. Not all at once, of course." He pressed his cheek to his palm and sighed. "Why does that seem to surprise people?"

Natsu and Gray both frowned, and their faces were a very impressive, matching shade of deathly white. They had no idea what to think anymore, as though every shred of logic in the universe had been burnt to a crisp.

Gray knew he'd regret asking, but he just had to. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-eight," said October with a straight face.

Yep, Gray regretted asking.

"Gladys was my third wife. Beautiful and radiant as the Sunset Hills, and very kind. That was the first two years of our marriage.

"Then she changed. See, by the nature of my work I deal with a great many people on a day-to-day basis. She thinks I come across as flirtatious, though I can't imagine where she got such a ridiculous idea. I'm very professional."

Natsu and Gray exchanged unconvinced looks. Then October resumed his explanation.

"Long story short, she left! Tore my heart asunder. Bel, my first wife, did the same thing. My second wife, Corrine, died in a horrible accident. I thought I would never recover, but Gladys was a tremendous help. I thought she was my soul mate truly, but she left.

"Then I was remarried five months ago. Lavender was her name. She understood the nature of my work best, and even shared in my passion. Many of the framed suits and dresses, those were creations of hers. She was brilliant. My superior even.

"And then she left completely out of the blue! A complete change of heart, and I had no idea why!"

At that point October was so overcome with grief that he could no longer formulate words beneath his audible sobbing. It seemed strange to both Natsu and Gray that the leader of the land of marriage couldn't even maintain a stable married life of his own. Yet people still seemed to rely on him and this little town for some semblance of hope in their newly found love lives. It was all very confusing, and any faint iota of interest in marriage either of them might have had died right then and there. It was way too complicated. This man really wasn't all that much older than either of them, and he was an emotional wreck.

"Would you like me to take over the story from here, Master?" asked comb over man, whom they learned to be named Bonnor. October excused himself, disappearing into a room on the left. It was for the best, because if the room was anymore thick with tension they would begin to choke on it.

"Though kind, Mistress Gladys was also insecure. Overcome by jealousy, she left Balsam in pursuit of what we believe to be the forbidden spell: Abscindia. There were various texts about it found in her chambers upon her leave."

"Abscindia?" said Natsu, his brows furrowed in concentration. He didn't fully understand how it worked, mostly that it was strictly forbidden magic. Also, apparently in ancient times people would cast that spell on the opposing side of the war to get allies to turn on one another. Knowing that such a thing used to exist made Natsu very angry. Even worse, some hag went out of her way to bring it back, the absolute worst kind of magic someone could use.

Gray watched Natsu's fists twitch into angry balls, and he smiled just a bit. If there's one thing he could say about this idiot, truly any member of Fairy Tail, is that they were good friends. There was no way some jealous woman was going to get away with the havoc she brought upon Balsam, and she certainly didn't stand a chance against two members of the strongest team.

"Whatever you do, do not underestimate Gladys. When it comes to people outside of herself, she is one of the most perceptive people in the country. She doesn't even need magic to know the exact nature of any relationship. She only needs magic to destroy a very strong one."

"That's good news for us, then. I can't stand this ass," said Gray, getting a rise out of the flame mage. Before the two could begin bickering, Bonner cast a very worried glance their way. Suddenly it seemed things would be less awkward with October back in the room.

As though he had picked up that thought through osmosis, October returned to the room far more composed than when he had left. His nose was red and his eyes were swollen, but he was ready to send them off with a few parting words.

"You need only to detain her. She isn't physically strong, so if you can manage to reach her and take her prisoner you both should be all right.

"However, it's important that you don't listen to anything she says. Don't engage in conversation with her. And do not get trapped by her circle cards magic. Abscindia is a spell that alters memories, ruins trust, and essentially destroys love. The more you love each other, the harder you'll fall."

"Like I said-" Gray started, this time with less confidence. Even Natsu seemed shaken by the explanation, and that was saying something.

"Of course, if you love each other in just the perfect way, Abscindia may have no effect! So far only three in thousands of couples have reported surviving the treachery of Gladys, so the statistics are strongly against you."

"Tch," said Natsu. "There's no cheap trick on this planet that can sever the ties between me and my nakama. Not even bastard Gray. Butts got nothing to do with it!"

"Who said anything about butts?" Gray shouted toward his infuriating companion. There couldn't possibly be anyone in this world more stupid and ridiculous than Natsu, though somehow he felt more hopeful. October and Bonnor were smiling, too, which did the previous sullen atmosphere no justice. Heck, Natsu was laughing his way out the door, as though nothing in the world could stand in his way. Well, except maybe transportation, but let's not go there.

"Good luck, darlings!" said October with a squeal. "If you survive the wrath of Gladys I will throw you both the biggest wedding Balsam has ever seen on the house."

"That won't be necessary," said Gray, twitching as he turned to leave. He rushed ahead of Natsu, then Natsu rushed ahead of him, and it became a race to the front door. Whatever it was that Erza sent them into, it was beyond evil. It was awkward and stupid and wrong and someone had to pay for it. This Deathbringer woman was in for the ass kicking of the century. Afterward, they would pick up their reward, get the hell out, and pretend that none of this had ever happened.

Though their confidence in that unspoken plan wavered just the slightest bit as more miserable people leaked out of bars, crying for lost lovers and breaking anything they could find. Gray could understand the motivation Gladys had to make October miserable. After all, Loke had upset his share of women back in the day. Hell hath no fury and all of that junk. However, this went well beyond the scope of acceptable. Not a damn thing was right about this.

And there was the microscopic, though distinct possibility that he and/or Natsu would wind up just like this collection of unhappy campers. He tried not to think about that too much, though. No bonds in this world were quite as tight as those shared by members of Fairy Tail. It was like trying to cut a diamond with a strand of hair.

"Ready, Natsu?"

As if he even had to ask. Natsu turned toward the ice mage, smiling and full of hope. Gray would do his best to protect that hopeful look, even if the person who wore it pissed him off more often than not.

TBC


	3. Gyrus de Abscindia

"Even the fire here is bad," said Natsu, with another unpleasant belch. They happened upon a fight outside of a pub that involved a full bottle of spirits being smashed against the ground, and someone lit and tossed a match. That rowdy group sobered up and ran when Natsu decided to dine on the spreading flame. The pub's owner, having witnessed the entire thing, allowed the two of them all they could eat for free. That took care of the hunger dilemma. The meat and potatoes were filling enough, but they weren't tasty. Natsu didn't even touch his share. Gray had a hunch that the only fresh thing to consume in this place was probably beer, which he just couldn't bring himself to order in such an environment.

"You threw up enough on the way here," said Gray, perhaps feeling more nauseous than Natsu was as he said that. Beggars can't be choosers, though. The slop was free, at least. The pub they happened to save from drunken arson also happened to be an inn, though they had to pay for their room.

They managed to gather that Gladys dwelled on the side of town opposite of October's manor, upon the less popular Sunrise Hills, which is said to be the first part of town where darkness falls. Also, she never left her dwelling.

She posed as a relationship counselor of sorts. Many people went to and left her thinking that their lives were doomed to loveless misery. Those who were scared of her were the people that likely relocated to different towns. Some were apprehensive of her. People with blind faith in their love, or high hopes for their future sought her counsel as though to challenge her, only to come out broken. She didn't just separate lovers, but friends and family, too. The bartender chipped in that he had a wonderful daughter who thought Gladys was a con artist, only to return a changed woman who despised her family all of a sudden. She rattled off false memories of betrayal and neglect to justify her ire. It was maddening.

Technically what Gladys was thought to be doing wasn't illegal, until October and Bonnor had both reason and evidence to suspect that Gladys was using forbidden magic. October, who was actually a mage unaffiliated with any guilds, would have faced her himself if not for the danger that the love for his town would be erased from his heart. Then all hope would be lost.

There were mixed feelings for their mayor around the bar, though the general concensus was that he was a bumbling fool that made a mess of his homeland by marrying such a dangerous woman. Others did not blame him, and in fact were glad that he thought to hire mages to take care of the problem, though some of the commentary regarding that was unsettling.

"You may want to enjoy your last night as friends together," was what the bartender told them. Gray felt his throat stiffen for a second, and could only find his breath once Natsu threw one arm around his shoulders and slammed the bar table with his free hand.

"Like hell!" he shouted, making Gray's ears ring. "You're all pathetic! If you were smart you'd drop everything to find those people, rather than moping around in here peeing all over yourselves. Burn it into your brains, or I'll do it for you. Nothing gets between me and my nakama!"

At the word "nakama" Natsu's grip tightened around Gray's shoulders, causing the ice mage to lose his breath once more. This was forbidden magic that they were going up against. Not even Natsu could possibly be dumb enough to let the risks go over his head.

No, that wasn't it. Natsu knew exactly what was at stake. He was more loud and tense than usual, and he made a point to have their bond be known for exactly what it was, while maintaining the belief that they would be all right regardless. Then something October said caused Gray's heart to skip a beat.

 _Of course, if you love each other in just the perfect way,_ Abscindia _may have no effect!_

That wasn't possible. Whatever it was that October meant by "love," that wasn't something he an Natsu had, was it? Did Natsu think so? Mages of Fairy Tail did have a tenacious amount of devotion toward their own, even if they argued and threw bar stools at one another. Could he or Natsu take a hit from Abscindia? To be honest, Gray didn't want to risk it. The plan he had in mind was to break in and detain her before she could use any life-altering magic, and it was possible. Even though the safest route was often boring, it seemed like the right thing to do this time around.

Especially for idiot Natsu, who would pretty much die without his friends, if half-choking Gray at the moment weren't any indication. He could feel his neck getting hot against the fire mage's skin all of a sudden, so he shoved himself out of Natsu's embrace and rubbed the sweat off.

"Let's get this over with," said Gray, walking toward the door as though it were just any old mission. Hey, if he believed it enough then it would be so, right?

"They're doomed," said one of the patrons, shaking his bushy head. Gray was just about to snap, but Natsu's hand found his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Neither of them looked at each other, just ahead. The warmth of the fire mage's gesture tingled against his bare shoulder like a ray of sunlight for quite awhile as they walked along. It was distracting, though Gray found that he didn't mind the distraction so much. He wanted to believe that they would walk away from this mission OK, after all that they'd been through. This didn't even compare to some of it, so he liked to believe. Most of what they did was a test of physical prowess and battle wit. Now was a test of friendship. Teamwork. Love?

... love... in just the perfect way

The word love was going to give Gray a massive headache at this rate.

"Stop dozing off, droopy-eyes. We've got work to do," said Natsu, cracking the muscles in his back and shoulders. Before he had even realized it, there they were.

"Think I don't know that?"

The Sunrise Hills, a deceptively cheery name. This end of town overlooked a forest mostly, whereas the other end overlooked plains, farmland, and more hills. The house of Gladys was small, perched upon one of the higher hills with a gravel path to lead them toward the door. Natsu hissed each time a rock got into his shoe. Gray was impressed that he himself still had shoes, and even pants at that, thanks to October. Still, the boxers were chafing. He wouldn't even bother with them if he could just manage to keep his pants.

In any case, if he didn't know any better he'd swear that this was just a normal magic shop. Its appearance was quaint and inoffensive enough. It even had a nice wooden sign that said Welcome on the front. Gladys was doing everything she could to piss him off at this point, he was certain of it.

Natsu opened the door, and a bell chimed above head. Once again they were assaulted by smells that were too strong. A heavy stench of spice and incense tickled their nostrils. Gray sneezed a few times, and Natsu shouted something about open windows. He couldn't really hear over the sound of his own sneezing. This was one of the reasons he tended to avoid the shops of fortune tellers, which is what this reminded him of. He also didn't need some weirdo prying into his future, but that was neither here, nor there. Frankly he was surprised that this alone didn't drive people away.

"Welcome," said some young woman appearing behind the counter. "Have you come for counseling?" She had to be at least a few years younger than Gray was. Her eyes were the color of olives in this dim candle lit room, and the bleached hair that curled about her chin looked familiar to Gray, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It wasn't Gladys, though, that was for sure. Apparently Gladys never showed her face to people anymore. She masked her face with a scarf, and wore a white headdress that hung about her shoulders. The only part of her face anyone ever saw these days were her eyes. That was exactly how she looked on the newsprint, too.

"Where's Gladys?" said Natsu, from whom Gray could already feel heat rising. The idiot finally got her name right, so it seemed that he was getting serious now. Either that, or he just wanted to get out of this spice infested nightmare of a house. Speaking of which, Gray was on his eighth or ninth sneeze, and this one was teary. If he didn't know any better he'd say someone was talking about his behind his back. A lot.

"Down those stairs," the woman said, gesturing toward a stairwell beside the incense rack. That was a little too easy. There was no fee? No waiting period? Just go? Another unsettling thing was how empty this girl was. Her voice, her eyes, her gestures. She was like a doll who existed for the purpose of pointing people toward the chamber of doom. It really bugged Gray, too, how familiar she looked. In fact, he could have sworn that he had seen her today, in fact, but that was impossible.

"Hmm," said Natsu. His lip turned into a sneer the moment their feet reached the first step. That wasn't surprising, seeing as Gray could sense it, too. Something wasn't right. It felt like they were walking right into a trap, but then again what could a relationship counselor really be capable of? She destroyed a town of weak-willed lovers. No, it was far more than that. It was obviously more than that. He didn't want to give her power too much credit if there was an easy and obvious solution. Somehow beating the crap out of this lady seemed too easy. How was it that no one before them did? October couldn't possibly be the only mage in Balsam.

"Gray," Natsu whispered, stopping halfway down and gesturing for him to halt. Gray did, and noticed Natsu glaring down at the polished hardwood floor beyond the foot of the step. "We should attack her from above. I sense something strange coming from the floor."

"Something strange? Like what?"

"How should I know? It just gives me a bad feeling. We can't touch the floor, OK?"

"Whatever. Just don't do anything stupid," said Gray, figuring he may as well concede with Natsu's plan. There was nothing else to go by, and October did warn them not to engage in conversation with Gladys. Sticking by the stairs didn't lend itself well to chatter among strangers, and long distance attacks were something that Gray was more than capable of. He wanted to err on the side of caution anyway. Frankly he was surprised that Natsu was thinking the same. When it came to battle at least the guy did have a few brain cells to rub together.

Once they reached the bottom few steps they spotted Gladys lighting the final candle at the edge of the floor. It seemed kind of pointless, considering that the room was already lamp lit, but then again Gray knew nothing about this sort of thing. She obviously couldn't predict the future, because if that were the case she'd know that filling a room with fire, no matter how small, only worked in Natsu's favor.

"It would seem that I have guests," said Gladys, in a voice that couldn't even begin to match her malice. It was gentle, sweet, and not at all what he had imagined. Even so, that was all part of the trap, wasn't it? The lure. Could someone so pure be so evil? Only an amateur would think not. "Welcome."

Natsu responded to her polite welcome with a fireball to the ceiling. He aimed for the lamp, melting the metal and cables that held it up within a matter of seconds. The fire mage wasted no time in declaring war here, though once the lamp came crashing down Gladys didn't even flinch. In fact, she stood directly below it, and just as it was about to crush her skull and invisible barrier that surrounded her smashed it to pieces. A circle of lamp parts surrounded her still form.

Shields magic. That was just perfect.

Though it made sense. People were bound to be upset with this woman. If she didn't have command of some sort of self-defense spell then there would be no need to get powerful mages involved.

"I knew it," said Natsu, pointing toward Gladys. Gray noticed that her body was surrounded by cards that were not there a second ago. For a moment they glowed, and the next they sunk into the floor. Had she not done that then her little trap would not have been quite as obvious. Frankly, if it weren't for Natsu then Gray might not have sensed the danger himself in time.

"What's eating you, darling?" Gladys asked, looking directly at Natsu. "I'm terribly sorry if things didn't work out with your girlfriend. Perhaps you might want to consider dulling that fiery personality of yours. Women don't like a man that's too hot-headed."

"Shut up!" said Natsu, balling his fist into blazing fireballs and hopping upon the rail of the stairs. "You're that crazy old hag that's been using weird magic to turn friends and family against each other. You're the worst kind of person."

Leave it to Natsu to get straight to the point. He hopped from the railing with both fists blazing, and as expected his fists were met with another invisible barrier. He used that to propel himself backwards to his previous spot on the railing. He had taken the time to establish that neither physical objects, nor magic would pierce that barrier. The floor was her territory, and who knew what the cards embedded beneath those oak boards were capable of, aside from the obvious, devastating Abscindia.

"How rude. I'm certainly not old, for one. And second of all, you have entirely the wrong idea, darling. My calling is to help people sever ties from those that are no good for them, and that is all."

"Don't even try to feed us that bullshit," said Gray, choosing to hang back for the time being. He knew that Natsu had something in mind. He could read it in the fire mage's body language, still and sure, eyes locked upon his opponent. Gray also had an idea, and if it was anything like Natsu's then the two of them had this in the bag. All they had to do was keep their cool.

"Have you been outside lately?" said Natsu, his cheeks tinted green with just the thought of it. The smell bothered the hell out of Gray, so he couldn't even begin to imagine what it did to Natsu. The fact that Natsu had no appetite after the whole fire fiasco spoke volumes, for one. "You're not helping anyone! I'm going to break every bone in your stupid body and dump you right in front of the mayor's door by sunrise."

Gladys sighed. It was fake. "I've heard that one before. You'll obviously have my shields to contend with."

"Then we'll just have to see who bleeds whose magic out first," said Natsu, grinning and firing up once more. Gray smiled. He thought that it was something like that. Normally that sort of plan was too risky, but they were at an advantage. If Natsu ran his reserves dry first, which would take a long time considering the candles especially, then Gray could step in. Gray hadn't revealed his own magical abilities yet, so not only was it entirely possible that they had more magic on their side, but there was also the element of surprise to contend with. Gladys didn't do anything to make him believe that she was prepared for two overpowered mages that could see through her little trap.

Natsu gathered every fire molecule in his belly that he could and let it rip toward her. Gray shielded his eyes from the blaze, feeling every bit of his cool skin prickle. He hated the damn heat, but he supposed he could deal with it just this once. Gladys had shields that could dissolve offensive spells, so the fire that rained down upon her simply disappeared where she stood. It would probably be the same for Gray's ice.

When Natsu took his first breath, Gray noticed one trickle of sweat slide down his brow. He was otherwise composed with utmost confidence in his plan, if that stupid grin on his face weren't indication enough. Gray could only imagine how much sweat was happening beneath that head dress of hers, and she was already short of breath. If this was the grand extent of her magical capabilities then they would be wrapping this up at any moment.

They were careless about only one thing, though.

Natsu had to hop off of the railing a split second before it disappeared. The whole damn thing just up and vanished. The other thing to vanish was the floor beneath Gray's feet, which caused him to land chest first against the very floor that would seal their doom.

"Excellent work, Linda," said Gladys. There was a smirk in her voice for sure.

He looked up at this girl called Linda, the girl who greeted them at the front counter. She was a mage, too, standing behind the railing that was not there a second ago. A mage capable of making objects vanish momentarily. She was so silent in her arrival that even Natsu couldn't sense her until it was too late.

"Gray!" Natsu shouted, as a circle of light began to form at once around the ice mage. He had only enough time to stand before the cards would pop out of the floor.

Just before they could, Natsu charged forward and punched Gray into the nearest wall. It worked, but in his place the fire mage wound up trapped in the circle of cards vortex, which he tried and couldn't punch his way out of.

Gladys was low on magical power as it was, concentrating all of her might into the final blow. Gray could only watch in horror as Natsu was engulfed in light, those cards circling him like a spinning razor. He screamed for a second, but once the light show was over he toppled into an undignified heap of limbs, and Gray stumbled toward him. He turned Natsu's face toward him, to see eyes frozen open with horror. He looked dead for a moment, but when Gray checked his pulse it was normal.

"What did you do," said Gray through gritted teeth, though it wasn't a question. He knew exactly what she did, and she was going to pay for it.

Through labored breaths, Gladys chortled. "Everything living thing in the universe is governed by the fight or flight response. Be grateful. Your friend has chosen to fight, which is not a path most are strong enough to endure. You must mean a lot to him.

"There's no guarantee that he'll be the same person you knew regardless, though. If he's not, I advise you to move on and seek better people as I have."

"Shut your fucking mouth!" said Gray, concentrating all of his reserves to bury everything in the room but the ground beneath Natsu's body in ice. Gladys neither had the magic, nor the reflexes to call upon her shields. There was also no way in hell she could cast Abscindia again, not when she could barely stand. Her and Linda both yelped when he trapped them where they stood with ice. In fact, the only bit of Gladys he didn't cover in ice was her head. He wasn't done speaking with her.

"You and your friend were sent by October, I take it," said Gladys.

Gray walked toward her, and the first thing he did was rip that stupid mask off of her face. He felt like pummeling it, too. The fact that she was a beautiful woman did nothing to alleviate that urge, and she didn't deserve to hide behind a mask. As far as he was concerned, she didn't even deserve the air she breathed.

"There is a way to reverse any magic. I learned this on Galuna Island when that idiot Lyon had the nerve to melt my master's iced shell.

"Meaning there's a damn way to reverse whatever crap you did to Natsu. Do you know how to do it? And don't fucking lie to me, or you'll be shitting teeth in the morning."

"I-I... !" said Gladys, her stone cold exterior crumbling under the heat of Gray's fury. His muscular build was more than capable of shattering every bone in her body. She could barely move her neck, and there was no point in struggling to budge any other limb in her body, though she probably was. Her skin was white as though drained of every blood cell, the combination of cold and fear overwhelming her. Tears fell from both of her eyes. "I-I... I don't know! And that's the truth. Your only hope is that Natsu-san c-can break the spell himself. It's... it's not unheard of! Oh please, I'll never do it again. Just... just... "

"Leave Gladys alone!" Gray could hear the tears in Linda's plea. "She's a wonderful person. She saved me from an abusive family!"

"Shut up!" said Gray, refusing to be bought. If Gladys used Abscindia on that girl, too, then there was no telling whether or not such a claim was legitimate. He would not be convinced of anything the pair of them had to say. If it weren't for Linda's sudden appearance then this wouldn't have happened.

Or rather, if it weren't for Gray's carelessness. They should have considered that girl a threat. How stupid. So, so stupid.

"That will do, Gray," came another familiar voice, that of October, descending from the stairwell. Most of the were lights dimmed, with the exception of one functioning lamp where Gray's magic did not reach, it was hard to make out his features. He slipped and fell once upon the frozen floor, making Gray cringe, though managed somehow to reach Gladys otherwise. He cupped the outraged woman's cheek and smiled at her.

"Sleep, my love."

October cast a simple sleep spell upon Gladys that knocked her out at once. A similar spell had been cast on Linda, perhaps just after she had pleaded with Gray. It didn't matter, though. None of it fucking mattered. With his enemies out of commission, all Gray could see was Natsu's unconscious form, gazing at him with those eerie, lifeless eyes that saw nothing. Nothing but whatever Abscindia was showing him. Gray couldn't even begin to imagine.

"Oye, Natsu. Wake up!" said Gray, grabbing him by the scarf. Even in sleep, injury-induced or otherwise, Natsu would have resisted such manhandling. He was as limp as a noddle. There was nothing normal about this "sleep." It was more like a coma. "Natsu, snap out of it! We've won. It's time to get out of here."

He held on to some shred of hope that Natsu would grab him by the wrist, knee him in the stomach, and tell him to quit shouting. The hope was made in vain. Gray tightened his vice grip on Natsu's scarf and shook him until he slipped from the damn thing and back to the floor. Nothing changed. The eyes, Gray reached for Natsu's face and pulled the lids down. There was no resistance. He couldn't stand the sight of it. He ground his teeth, clutched the scarf to his heart, and struck the ice with his free fist, causing a fissure to split clear across the frozen floor. His knuckles were bleeding. He didn't care.

"Gray, be a darling and release Gladys. I need to detain her properly." There was no humor in October's voice, just business. Gray turned toward him and noticed the anti-magic cuffs he had brought with him. So that's how it was.

Gray did as he was told. Gladys would never cast shields, or Abscindia as long as she was wearing those. Balsam was free of her causing more damage, perhaps at a price that was just too great.

"I called upon you mages to do precisely as you have done. You weakened her power to the point where I could easily approach her. Thank you."

"You'll have to thank Natsu for that actually, when he snaps out of it," said Gray, slinging the unconscious mage's arm around his shoulders. This stupid bastard was heavy. How could Happy stand it all the time?

"I'm not sure 'when' is the correct word for it, to be honest. Be prepared for the worst, I'm afraid."

"Then that perfect love crap you spouted earlier was just a lie?" Gray didn't look at him. He couldn't. He didn't want anyone to see whatever ridiculous emotion was written on his face.

"Well," said October, gazing sadly at the face of his former wife, who he now held in his arms bridal style. "I suppose not."

"Good." Gray dragged his teammate up the stairs, caring no longer to engage in this stupid conversation. He had more important things to worry about, like hoping against all odds that the Natsu he knew would emerge from this nightmare.


	4. This is Your Fault

Loneliness and Natsu were not strangers by any means. When Igneel disappeared, each day was a trial until he found a new family in his beloved guild. Thanks to Fairy Tail his relationship with loneliness was short-lived and better off long forgotten. It was silly to let such a stupid emotion make itself known in the first place, for all it would do was eat at him and convince him of things that just weren't true. One had to dig into the far reaches of Natsu's mind to find tangible memories and feelings of abandonment. They had been so outweighed by his love and devotion toward his nakama that one wouldn't even guess he had experienced such awful sadness at any point in his life. It also renewed hope in his search for Igneel such that it was incapable of crumbling. 

That was, until the council finally ruled in favor of having Fairy Tail disbanded once and for all. He couldn't believe it was true. To this day he still couldn't believe it. In his mind, they were still together, somewhere, and he would find them. 

The council had threatened to do disband Fairy Tail for many years, considering the careless damage many members of the guild were prone to causing. Natsu was especially guilty of such destruction. He cost towns all over Fiore a lot of money, but at the same time he brought a lot of excitement and heroics to the lives of many. Being a guild mage was the absolute best. He honestly never thought he'd see the day the council, especially the new one, made good on its threat to disband one of Fiore's best guilds. Somehow, though Natsu couldn't recall what made it so different from any other time, he had gone too far, and the guild was finally deemed to do more harm than good overall.

It took the entire council and about six of the great wizard saints to detain those who were unruly and unwilling to comply. Erza's mightiest defensive armor took a direct hit from their improved Etherion canon, very reminiscent of their battle against the long disbanded Phantom Lord guild. Had it been any other mage, they and the very land upon which they fought would have been wiped out. The council had counted on Erza being able to absorb most of the blow, and reluctantly voted to fire it toward the Fairy Tail guild. Magnolia Town and the guild itself were unharmed, but Erza had used so much of her energy defending the town that the strain had knocked her flat. 

Mirajane and Laxus were the main force to be reckoned with afterward, but even in their peak forms they were no match for the wizard saints. By the time Erza fell Natsu was in such a blind rage he couldn't recall the details of who did what, opting only to fight until he, too, was bested, which he must have been because how else would he wind up here? 

The last moment he recalled of the lost battle was the moment they knew they had finally lost. Gray, beaten and bloodied as the rest, thrown onto the muddy ground beside Natsu, looked dead into the fire mage's eyes and told him, "This is your fault." And that was a moment where Gray's hatred for Natsu became real, and all Natsu could do was look around and gape at all of the dejected, defeated faces and forms of what had become his ex-comrades until unconsciousness would have him.

His only companion now was that same loneliness that tagged along with him after Igneel's disappearance. Not even Happy was by his side. When Natsu came to after the arduous battle, he was all alone. Natsu's magic was sealed in arm and leg braces to be on the safe side, and he was thrown into a damp cell without so much as a toilet and a boarded up window. He'd never know if it were night or day, or even if a day had passed, and the only people he ever saw were guards. He spent most of his time thinking about how to get out of there, though not so much as a warm huff of air would breach his lips. His magic was completely shut down, and his limbs were bound like so. His only hope of escape was if someone had come to bust him out, though as time went by that idea grew cold and bleak. Did anyone even know where he was? Were they trapped, too? What was going on? The amount of things he just didn't know drove him up the wall.

He was only given one meal a day, which was usually stale bread and water, which he had to consume without use of his arms. And if you thought that was a chore then the amount of effort it took for him to get up to use the toilet was just. Well, that was a detail best left unmentioned. Suffice to say his many days in this prison were spent in humiliation and misery, his only company the thoughts in his mind and an occasional rat, or roach that stopped by to pick at what remained of his "meal." 

He often wondered what his friends were up to. He had convinced himself that they at least weren't in a jail, like this, suffering and alone. Lucy would be in her apartment writing that book that she didn't want people looking at for some reason. Sometimes Natsu would sleep over, because Lucy was awesome. Even if she did yell a lot, she was hilarious and the best friend ever. He hoped that Happy was keeping her company in his stead, because she didn't like to be alone. Besides, that was better than Happy being here, like this. 

Erza would probably be shopping for clothes, and swords, and other scary things. Natsu considered her one of his greatest rivals and he would be defeating her the next time they crossed paths, so help him. She blocked the council's unstoppable death beam all by herself, and it was completely awesome. She was basically perfect, and Natsu was going to surpass her no matter what. 

He thought of his friends, going down the list one by one. Levy with her books, and Raki with her wood magic. Macao and Romeo having a conversation about amazing wizards and such over dinner. Stupid Gazille and his ugly piercings, and his uglier singing voice. Natsu was just itching to beat the shit out of that jerk. Then there was Wendy, who quickly became one of Natsu's favorite people. She was a better dragon slayer than stupid Gazille, and she had troia. He thought about Lisanna, reunited with Mirajane and Elfman, and that really made him smile. He didn't like to imagine her alone ever, because after what she went through that was the last thing she deserved, damn it. And then there was Juvia. Come to think of it, she didn't really do much other than hang all over... over... 

" _"This is your fault."_

Natsu swallowed. He had intentionally avoided thinking about Gray. Natsu could deceive himself for only so long, and only so much. He was convinced that everything was all right with Igneel in the beginning, too. Some circumstance separated the two. He would even come to learn that he wasn't alone in this. Gazille and Wendy lost their parents, too. But Natsu's search for Igneel was a long one, and by the time he had found Fairy Tail his loneliness was on the brink of weighing him down. He had nights where he wondered if he'd ever see his old man again. When he found his new family, though, those thoughts were buried in the hope newly rejuvenated love created for him. 

But that family that held him so high was was supposedly disbanded. Temporarily, Natsu told himself. He would find his comrades when he got out, free them if they were jailed, and find a new place to live. If they had to be branded a dark guild then so be it. No matter what they were his family, his nakama. He hoped beyond all reason that this was exactly what they were up to, that his guild would rise again one way or another, council be damned, and he could just have his family again. He couldn't stand the thought of losing even one of them. 

In the darkest hours where his isolation weakened his mind, and Gray's contemptuous words and stare would creep into his memory, Natsu was growing more and more unable to banish such thoughts. It really wasn't in Natsu's nature to buckle under sadness, or to buckle at all for that matter. The hours felt like days, and the days grew aplenty, and those days were now a blur to Natsu. Isolation and starvation made his lot in life staring at walls and sleeping, for the most part.

He had only his loneliness and his thoughts to keep him company, and time turned his thoughts sour. The forefront of those sour thoughts were Gray, gazing at him with a different kind of fire. Real hatred. He hated Natsu because apparently Natsu's actions were the cause of this guild's forced disbandment. Like hell. It wasn't Natsu that had failed Fairy Tail, though. He wouldn't be separated from his nakama no matter what. No, it was Gray's attitude that was to blame. That honest belief that Fairy Tail was no more. Natsu swore that when he was released from this disgusting prison that Gray would pay for betraying Fairy Tail.

\---

Natsu's eyes snapped open.

He'd been asleep on a park bench two towns north of Magnolia. He'd been released from prison a week ago, and as tempting as it was to shove fists of fire into the faces of the authorities, all he could concentrate on was getting himself food and tracking down his comrades. Lucy's apartment was his first stop, though all he found was her landlord who promptly told him to beat it. If he were quite honest he had to admit that he didn't know where most of them lived. He knew where Gray lived, but upon inspection that lodging was taken by different people. So what Natsu did to remedy the situation was knock on every door he saw until he got some answers.

Wakaba's wife was the first who didn't slam the door in Natsu's face right away, and even insisted that he take a bath. The only article of clothing that he didn't burn away was his beloved scarf, the only thing that wasn't covered in enough stink and grime to make even Natsu twitch. She had provided him with simple clothes and a meal. Though this garb wasn't exactly his style, he could always stop by his house and change. He had already visited once just to see if Happy was there, and left disappointed when he found it long vacant.

Apparently Wakaba did not hold him in contempt for what had happened, and had managed to find work in a timely fashion, though he often felt nostalgic. This was the first bit of Fairy Tail he had seen in what was apparently four months. The area where the once great guild stood was cleared of the debris that was once their guild, and there was a rumor that a shopping center would be built in that vacant area, which infuriated Natsu. He just had to set things right, so that Wakaba and everyone else didn't have to be nostalgic, or work anywhere else. 

Damn it all. It didn't take him long to run out of the food Wakaba's wife had packed for him. He didn't have money for transportation, which was just fine with him because he didn't like using it anyway. He couldn't afford to waste any food he consumed, in any case, so he opted to run, walk, crawl, and drag as far as he could go to track down who he knew would be the most difficult to sway. He would beat Gray within an inch of his life and bring him back, and when he did they would find the rest of Fairy Tail and bring them home. The efforts seemed fruitless, but as far as Natsu was concerned that's what made it worth it. Natsu's fist would pay back Gray for those four awful words that were almost the death of him in that prison. That _traitor_. Stupid _BASTARD_. How _dare_ he give up so easily...   
\---

Natsu went in the direction his instincts took him in, which eventually lead him to the front door of the Lamia Scale guild. There was only one man in this world who knew Gray as well as his nakama did, and even if Natsu had to beat it out of Lyon he'd find out where that stupid bastard was, no doubt. He kicked open the door uninvited, paying no mind to the frozen glares that tried to weigh him down. This guild wasn't as rowdy or populated as Fairy Tail, and he already recognized eyebrows and the doggy guy, but that didn't concern him. 

"Where's that bastard?" was all Natsu said, and he didn't budge an inch when the large and intimidating Jura slammed the door shut behind him and glared down at him. If he planned on starting any trouble this man of insurmountable strength would restrain him, and as intriguing as a that prospect was Natsu just didn't have any damn time to tango with the likes of him. He'd leave as a soon as Lyon's ugly face made itself known. 

"You'll have to be more specific than that, Natsu-dono," said Jura. That man was ready to fight if he deemed it necessary, no doubt, though Fairy Tail's good relations with Lamia Scale were not long forgotten. They also weren't of any concern to the impulsive fire mage, who was hungry and angry and tenacious as all hell.

"That ice jerk, Lemon, or whatever his stupid name is. I have a question to ask him. Where... where the fuck is he?" 

"My, your manners are as lacking as ever. Though I feel inclined to help you in whatever way that I can. Lyon-dono is on a mission, so if there's any way that I may be of service-"

"It has to be him," said Natsu. His stomach practically roared in agony. It had been at least a day since he had last eaten, and having snuck aboard a train bound for the town in which Lamia Scale was located did not help. It was a regrettable decision, though a risk he simply had to take, because the only other choice he had was walking through snow for days. He didn't have enough food for days worth of on-foot travel, and he hated snow, so where his decision to agonize in the cargo hold of a stupid train was a tough one to make, he had survived somehow, though the impact of said decision caught up with him, and he passed out at Jura's feet just like that. 

TBC


	5. Objectivity of the Mind

Gray hauled Natsu back to October's manor upon the mayor's unrelenting insistence, baited only by the promise of research material on this blasted spell and a chance to interrogate Gladys farther. She would be confined and unable to use her magic, so she wasn't a threat now. In fact, she'd be the only one receiving threats anytime soon if Gray had anything to say about it, and he had a bitch ton to say, and no way of really articulating any of it at this particular time. All he knew was that a very dear person to him was in very real danger, and at that present moment he couldn't do anything to save him. 

What killed him the most was that Natsu was right-fucking- _there_. He was heavy and dead to the world, but he wasn't in the sort of danger that was physical. _That_ Gray could deal with quite easily. He had enough ice make roaring through his veins to freeze this whole city, and would if it would help, but it wouldn't. It wouldn't help one bit. He was such a careless, foolish idiot. He had only himself to blame for this mishap, and if Natsu came out of it for the worst, if he ever came out of it, Gray wasn't sure he could find it in him to forgive himself. It took a lot just to forgive himself for what had happened with Ur in the past. Could he really brand himself with more of these mishaps and failures?

No, it would do no good for anyone, least of all Natsu, to allow his thoughts to tread such a dangerous path. He allowed the sounds of the rowdy bars and angry shouting surrounding him to drown out his mind, as he put one foot in front of the other and kept moving. He had to keep moving. 

His legs managed to carry him and his comatose companion all the way to October's mansion. The mayor was currently sealing off all of the magic in that witch's dwelling. He would also be gathering their things from the inn and reimbursing their room fee in their reward, which Gray honestly didn't give one damn about at the moment. Bonnor was there to greet him at the door, and having already expected the worst he quietly lead Gray up into the room he would be sharing with Natsu. Unfortunately it was cozy, lavish honeymoon suit decked out in rose decor, painted in reds, pinks, whites, and golds, and it smelled flowery and girly and Gray would be lying if he didn't admit that upon first glance this room nauseated him. 

Under normal circumstances Gray would have put his foot down and said thanks but no thanks, but upon first rational thought he was glad to find a bed to deposit Natsu on, so that's just what he did, comfort be damned.

"Take me to your library," said Gray, his tone curt and leaving zero room for argument. Though this predicament was hardly the fault of Bonnor, Gray was going to go insane if he didn't start getting answers like yesterday. The old man understood, and wasted no time in leading Gray to his coveted workspace. Now, sitting around reading wasn't really Gray's thing. He liked to read once in awhile, yeah, but he didn't have the same passion for it that someone like Lucy, or Levy did. Even so, in a life or death situation, he'd hit every damn book in this library until he knew everything he wanted to. 

Bonnor provided him with a pair of wind reading glasses, which would accelerate the process greatly, and brought him every book on ancient spells in that whole library. It was reminiscent of schooling, in any case. He even had paper and pens handy and took notes like a damn nerd, and all it frustrated the hell out of him. Of the twenty-seven books Bonnor had plopped down in front of him, only about five of them had extensive information on _Abscindia_. Apparently it was a spell so ancient it almost qualified as too old to be ancient, which was pretty fucking annoying. Things like _The Encyclopedia of Ancient Magic_ even claimed that _Abscindia_ was merely a myth because of this, and he tossed it in the nearest trash over his shoulder with little regard for property that wasn't his as usual. Such was the nature of a Fairy Tail mage. 

The five sources that gave him extensive information, however, had mostly conflicting information. To be fair, magic of the mind was a very difficult thing to research. It required first hand experience to be even remotely accurate, or else it wasn't even theory so much as it was bullshit and diarrhea of the brain. There was, however, one general consensus that, much more often than not, victims of _Abscindia_ walk away changed people and the effect is not reversible. Even the most modern study of ancient spells attested to that, so whatever battle Natsu was fighting within himself, he had to be the one to win it, because Gray was powerless to help once Natsu came to. 

Fuck.

 _Spells of Olde_ and _Toil and Trouble_ both suggested that most victims of _Abscindia_ regain consciousness within seconds of it being cast. These are believed to be the people that are most willing to accept the life-altering perceptions the spell inflicts upon them. They then mentioned that somewhere between 5 and 15 percent of victims regain consciousness in a span of 2 to 72 hours, and in rare cases do victims stay unconscious for weeks. The longest recorded case of unconsciousness via _Abscindia_ was 7 months and 12 days. 

The moment Gray read that he threw _Toil and Trouble_ , too, but only because he was on edge, and knew Natsu was just crazy enough to make him wait that long if necessary. Gray was finding the wait unbearable even now, three hours later. Not sign nor stir of Natsu's consciousness was brought to Gray's attention by Bonnor, or anyone. He thought of bringing the books up to that room just to be near him, but couldn't really bring himself to do so at the moment, so there he sat in the dim manor library glued to his research. Never mind that his throat was dry and his chest was tight. 

_Objectivity of the Mind_ , a title that already had Gray frowning, was the most recently published of the books on the topic at hand, and _Abscindia_ had a moderately sized section. Apparently the spell was making a slight comeback, though not enough of one to set the magical community into an uproar. That was a mistake. 

Most of what Gray read were first hand accounts of afflicted people from the past decade or so describing their experiences to the best of their ability. It was a misconception that the spell altered the memories people had prior to the spell, so much as it changed peoples feelings on said memories. Every person ever afflicted negatively reported feeling like a completely different person, but with little to no memory of what had caused them to feel as such. Only that they were so sure that their friends and loved ones have wronged them so much that they simply had to get even, or get away. It was literally unbearable to be around them. 

One described it like a nightmare that felt so real that they couldn't possibly distinguish it from reality, despite having no memory of it at all. And least that was the impression Gray was starting to get. 

It was late, Gray's mind and body grew more tired by the second, and this was all making an uncomfortable amount of sense. One thing that stood out to him was that the most common emotion people would snap out of _Abscindia_ with is a sense of betrayal, followed by an extreme sense of foreboding.

Betrayal?

This time Gray simply pushed the book away and leaned his forehead into his laced fingers. If he had to hazard a guess he'd say Gladys was currently afflicting Natsu with some crazy idea that Fairy Tail, perhaps even Gray himself, had betrayed him in some way. Good luck trying to get Natsu to believe such garbage, was what Gray wanted to believe, and in fact a very tenacious part of him believed it. 

_"You're all pathetic! If you were smart you'd drop everything to find those people, rather than moping around in here peeing all over yourselves. Burn it into your brains, or I'll do it for you._ Nothing _gets between me and my nakama!"_

Gray smiled for just a second there, and could feel himself choke up a little. Natsu was such an idiot. A loud-mouth and a reckless, annoying son of a bitch. He always ate too much, and puked too much on transportation, and snored too much, and acted like a big, dumb kid, and Gray swore that he only went out of his way to have this jerk's back was because he was the only one who had any business killing him. And rest assured, Gray would do just that if Natsu kept getting them into stupid situations like this. That is, if his anxiety didn't crush him by the end of this. 

No, it wouldn't. Not a chance. Natsu was also the most loyal and reliable friend one could have. Though these occasions were few and far between, Gray considered himself extremely lucky to have a friend like Natsu. Natsu was a constant that he could always count on, and he knew how to draw people in and keep them all together. Without Natsu... 

Without... 

_NO!_

"Gray darling? It's almost three in the morning. Now might be a good time to get some sleep," said October, who couldn't have come at a better time. Gray's mind was about to tread the terrible trail of what ifs and worst case scenarios, and that wasn't OK. He believed in Natsu, damn it. He always believed in Natsu, and this time shouldn't have been any different. It really shouldn't have. But Gray was scared, he couldn't deny that. He wanted answers. He wanted to do something other than worry himself into insanity. What the hell even compelled him to go on such a stupid mission in the first place?

He dragged himself away from the desk, wondering where in the world the time had gone. It seemed like a blur, and he felt like he ought to have been hungry by now, but had no appetite. He probably had to go to the bathroom, but didn't really care. His shoulders cramped and spine tingled from being hunched over too long. His mind was a mess. He also knew that he was probably tired, but he wouldn't be getting to sleep anytime soon. 

As Gray passed October, nothing but a weak grunt passed his lips. October seemed to understand, and placed his hand on Gray's shoulder and said, "We'll have a chat with Gladys tomorrow morning. Rest for now, my dear." 

Had October's sleep magic not knocked Gray clean out where he stood, that sleep wouldn't have been happening. Nevertheless, October seized the chance to put Gray in a needed state of slumber. With rest he would be able to digest all of the sudden information he had crammed into his mind more effectively and he wouldn't be working himself into a panic over it. From the looks of it October hadn't intervened a moment too soon, if his library littered in tossed books weren't indication enough. Oh well. He didn't hire these mages for manners, and they were just too cute to be upset with over anything. This was true love at its absolute best.

Truth be told, their only hope was if Natsu was fighting at least twice as hard on his end. October had been in Gray's exact position twice in his lifetime already, and knew this helpless feeling all too well. Though he knew from experience how bleak things were, he also couldn't help but have hope for them. And they were just so cute and precious that he couldn't bear to think otherwise anyway. 

Speaking of cute, oh. October just about lost it when he slid Gray right next to Natsu on that bed. He had seen thousands of couples in his lifetime, many of which were just the right fit and oh so dear. Countless memories, but this would go down in history as one of the most precious love stories to ever happen in Balsam, granted Natsu came back to them as himself. And he would, because there was no more room for tragedy in this town. That's what October resolved to believe from that moment forward. 

\---

Gray was placed beside his comatose friend, unbeknownst to the fact that his hypothesis on Natsu's current "vision" was not far off. Beneath the fire mage's eerie blank and lifeless eyes was _Abscindia_ making its awful attempt to rewrite and rework everything Natsu had come to know and feel by hitting him where he was most sensitive: his friends. They wouldn't all just give up and leave. Gray would never look at Natsu with those contemptuous, hateful eyes. This was what drove Natsu to fight, though he was unaware of the true fight at hand. It was a fight to keep his love for his nakama, and a fight to continue believing in Gray, who would never, ever betray him. 

Natsu believed that, and as long as he did _Abscindia_ would keep its choke hold on his consciousness until one of them were to fold. Spells were only as strong as the mage who cast them, after all. 

\---

Natsu was deposited on some strange bed, and he awoke to that doggy guy with his sock necklace hovering over him. Unfortunately for Toby the fire mage shot up so fast he knocked his hard, pink head into the other man's jaw and knocked him back, and the resounding "awwrroooo" drew an audience of one into the room immediately. Natsu had more to yell about, but it died on his tongue like dull embers when a most unexpected face appeared in the doorway. 

"Juvia?" Natsu whispered, as though he had encountered some unbelievable miracle out of nowhere. But no, this was perfectly real and laid out on a silver platter. You could always count on this girl to know where Gray was and what he was up to, almost like she made it her job to know. It was a fact of Fairy Tail that escaped no one, including Natsu. In fact, he could just forget about Lyon now, thought he with that massive grin of his. 

"It's nice to see you again, Natsu-san," said Juvia. Quite frankly the two of them weren't that close, but she was his nakama, and if she could get both her and Gray back at the same time then all the better. At least that's what logic told him. Logic also told him that her being here actually didn't make a whole lot of sense, and suddenly this seemed too good to be true. Also, she didn't seem unhappy, and she was known for being kind of quiet and mopey. This Juvia wore her hair down and a bright blue dress which revealed enough skin that her cerulean guild emblem was in plain sight, and that was where Natsu's mood went straight to hell. 

Because where there was once a Fairy Tail emblem, a Lamia Scale emblem sat.

"What's going on? Why did you become a member of Lamia Scale, huh?" said Natsu, barely keeping his voice below a bellow. To be fair, in a time where their home was taken from them, it made sense that the mages would find new ones temporarily. Seeing that emblem was just too much, though. She went too far. Sure, wearing the emblem of a disbanded guild was illegal, and Natsu had his removed forcefully in captivity after much resistance (which only added to his sentence) but this was hard to swallow. Juvia was always so loyal, even if she was kind of weird and gloomy. 

Juvia's dark blue gaze took a morose turn to the floor, and she clutched her heart as though it had been punched. 

"Hey, you! Don't you make Juvia cry, arroo," said Toby, flashing his claws at Natsu. 

"Please leave us, Toby-san. Natsu-san wants to know about Gray-sam... " she cleared her throat, and looked almost startled as that old name slipped off of her tongue. "He wants to know about Gray. And Juvia will be strong... and tell him what he needs to know." 

"Right!" Toby stumbled out of the room, and told her Jura would back her up just in case things got ugly, but she didn't need it. Juvia was an S-Rank mage, and frankly the idea of a fight against her intrigued Natsu when it actually occurred to him, considering that his natural weakness was, in fact, water. Apparently there was still no Lyon to be found, and where Natsu couldn't hope for a better alternative than a member of Fairy Tail, especially Juvia, he already knew that he wouldn't like where this was going. He had never heard her refer to him as "Gray" before, for starters. It sounded ugly and wrong to his ears. Had Gray betrayed her in some way, too? No, he couldn't have. 

"Natsu-san, you should stop trying to find Gray," said Juvia, her eyes still on the floor. "He's... he's gone." 

Natsu's eyes were as wide a saucers, and he felt every gut of his freeze in that instant. Whatever hunger he felt in over a day's worth of not eating vanished. No. She would have to elaborate first. Gone? What did that mean exactly? Before his brain could form the list his large palms clutched her shoulders, and he was nose-to-nose with her demanding answers. 

"What do you mean 'gone'? Don't fuck with me!!!" 

"Oh," and that was it. Juvia's face was flooded with tears, but Natsu was so close to that point himself that he could care less. "Oh, Juvia just can't do this." There was a long story of agony in her manic, bloodshot gaze. "Lyon-sama... told Juvia to-to lie to Natsu-san... because... because Gray doesn't want to be bothered. L-Lyon-sama is-" she hiccuped, and leaned into his chest, "Lyon-sama is concerned that Gray might-hic-might try to kill Natsu-san!" 

"What?" 

Juvia was too overcome to speak anymore, so Natsu let go of her shoulders and let her cry it out while he tried to calmly digest the information. So he gathered that Gray wasn't gone in a permanent sense, so that was relief enough to keep him from losing it himself. But why would Juvia stoop so low as to lie to Natsu about something like that? Even if that bastard's words haunted him nightly, they only did because Gray was his friend. Hell, Gray was one of his best friends. He had to know what in the hell compelled the ice mage to look at and speak to him so hatefully, even if that idiot tried to kill him. It wouldn't be the the first time Natsu had to fight with his life on the line, and it certainly wouldn't be his last. If he had to die trying to get Gray to see reason then he'd at least make sure to drag that idiot to hell with him. 

"Tell Lyon thanks but no thanks. I don't want his concern. I want to know where Gray is." He could see her eyes swimming in anguish over this, because he knew Gray meant a lot to her, even now. "I'm gonna get Gray and the others back. I have to make things right." 

"Please stop!" Juvia's fists took clumps of Igneel's scarf, and she bowed. "Gray is gone, Natsu-san. He... he just wants to be alone. Juvia followed him to the Northern Continent and he told Juvia to go away when Juvia tried to stop him. He never wants to see Juvia or anyone ever again. And then he... it was awful. It's unlike him, but as much as Juvia's heart is still in pain over this, Lyon-sama was kind enough to give Juvia a new home and a new life. I just want to move past this!" 

Natsu took a moment to roll her desperate plea around his mind before the only conclusion he could come to was, "So you're saying Gray is on the Northern Continent then? Thanks." 

"Juvia won't let you no matter what!" she said, assuming her stance to perform her water lock ability. Natsu also assumed a fighting position, finding nothing but inconvenience in her good intentions. He knew it was callous to brush them aside, but there were larger things at stake. 

"And what _you're_ saying is that you're prepared to throw your life away for this? Then it can't be helped. Please stand down, Juvia," boomed the voice from the doorway. What Natsu saw was Lyon, and he could even smell him for awhile, though was too busy with Juvia to care. Nevertheless, what he noticed about Lyon as he walked into the room was enough to squeeze just about every molecule of air from his lungs. 

"What the hell happened to you?!" 

TBH

A/N: I meant for this to be a chapter of clarification, though I may have gone a bit overboard on the academia behind my little made up spell. XD; I'm a colossal nerd. I just don't know what to do with me. 

Anyway, I was under a lot of stress while writing some parts of this chapter. Yay election season and full time jobs. DX Ugh!! Well, anyway, let me know what you think. Ready for some boy love?


End file.
